Orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit



. Filed July 14, 1960 Oct. 17, 1961 M. s. YERKOVICH 3,004,794

ORTHOPEDIC CUSHION AND ARM REST UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

MARKO S. YERKOVICHI Oct. 17, 1961 M. s. YERKOVICH 3,004,794

ORTHOPEDIC CUSHION AND ARM REST UNIT Filed July 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet2 H15 Hag- United States Patent Filed July 14, 1960, Ser. No. 42,800 1Claim. (Cl. 297-382) This in'ventionrelates to an orthopedic cushion andarm rest unit. I

More particularly this invention relates to an orthopedic cushion andarm rest unit which is adapted for use in conjunction with beds, chairs,automobile seats, or like places, to enable a patient suffering fromspinal or back disorders to rest in a more comfortable position than hasbeen possible heretofore.

Many orthopedic chairs and seats have been devised heretofore for theuse of persons having spinal or back injuries but many of these are notsatisfactory in that they do not relieve the pressure on the spine whichis particularly acute in such cases when a person so afilicted rides inan automobile, boat, or the like, or sits in a chair or in a bed forasubstantial period of time.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide anorthopedic cushion and arm rest unit which is particularly adapted foruse by patients suffering from spinal injuries and which is adapted torelieve the pressure on the spine when the patient is riding sitting inan automobile, boat or like place, or resting in a sitting position in abed, or seated in a chair, or the like. A

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new orthopediccushion and arm rest unit embodying a novel'means for supporting thearms and shoulders and upper body portion of the user in such a manneras to relieve pressure on the spine and thereby lessen the discomfortincidental to the pressure of the weight of the upper portion of thebody on the spine when the person is in a sitting position in a chair,vehicle, bed or the like. j

-A further object of the present invention is to provide a new improvedorthopedic cushion and arm rest unit embodying the novel features ofconstruction and having the desirable advantages "and characteristicshereinafter described.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparentfromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and whatI now consider to be the best modein which I have con templated applyingthese principles. ments of thepresent invention embodying the'sam'e orequivalent principles may be used and structurally may be made asdesired by those skilled in the art without departing from the presentinvention: :ypa'i. I 'ji In the drawings:

IG. 1 is a perspective view showing a typical use of the new orthopediccushion and arm rest unit, with a user resting thereon in a bed;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the new orthopedic cushionand arm rest unit, per se, as used in a bed;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view showing the new orthopedic cushionand arm rest unit as used upon a chair;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view as seen from the right hand side ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the new orthopedic cushion and arm restunit as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the new unit;

FIGJ is a side elevational view of the new orthopedic cushion and armrest unit;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional detail view on line 8-8 inFIG. 6, showing the manner in which Other T embodi ice the arm restmember embodied in the new orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit may beadjusted vertically;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail view on line 9-9 inFIG. 7 showing the construction of the hinge connection between the seatcushion unit and the back rest cushion unit; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional detail view of the hinge connectionbetweenthe seat cushion and the back rest cushion, as taken on line10-10 in FIG. 6.

A preferred embodiment of the new orthopedic cushion and arm rest unitis illustrated in the drawings, where it is generally indicated at 10,and is shown in a typical use thereof, in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein it isshown as being used by a person in a bed 11, wherein it is shown asbeing arranged on the bed clothing and rested against a pillow 12.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 the new orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit is shownas being used on a chair 13 which includes a seat 16 and a back restframe 17.

The new orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit 10 includes a seat cushion14 and a back rest cushion 15, and the seat cushion 14 being adapted tobe rested upon a suitable support, such as a bed, as shown in FIG. 1, orupon the seat 16 of a chair as in FIGS. 3 and 4, with the back restcushion 15 adapted to be rested against a pillow, as 12, in the bedshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or against theback rest portion of a chair 13,as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The new orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit 10 includes a pair of armrest members 19, one of which is arranged at each side of the back restcushion 15. Each of these arm rest members 1% is mounted upon and issupported by a tubular supporting member 23 and each of these tubularsupporting members 23 is telescopically and adjustably mounted in asecond tubular member 18.

Each of the inner and smaller tubular members 23 has a series ofdiametrically aligned pairs of holes 24 formed therein and each of thesealigned pairs of holes 24 is adapted to be selectively registeredwith apair of diametrically aligned holes 25 formed in the corresponding outertubular member 18. A latch element, in the form a of a cotter key 26,carried by a small flexible chain 27, is adapted to be insertedselectively into and through the aligned pairs of registered holes 24-25so as to latch position relative to the lower tubular supporting member18. One end portion of each of the flexible chains 27 may be attached,in any suitable maunerto the corre- 1 sponding one of the tubularsupporting member l8.

. A hook shaped fastening member 22 is mountedcen trally on theupperportion of the back cushion 15 and is adapted to be engaged overthe back rest 17 of a chair, or the like, when the new orthopediccushion and arm rest unit is used in connection with a chair 13 or thelike, as in FIGS. 3 and 4, so as to retain the back rest cushion 15 inupright position on the chair.

The seat cushion 14 and the back rest cushion 15 are interconnected by aflexible web W of canvas, leather or the like, and the arm rest members19 and their supports 18-23 are hingedly mounted on hinge unit 28 whichincludes a horizontally extending tubular hinge member 29 which isdisposed between the rear end portion of the seat cushion 14 and thelower end portion of the back cushion 15, within the web W. Each endportion of this tubular hinge member 29 has a horizontally extendiugtubular stub shaft 30 hingedly mounted therein and each of these tubularstub shafts 30 has an upwardly extending tubular stub shaft portion 31attached thereto at each end thereof. Each of these stub shafts 31extends into the lower portion of a corresponding one of the outertubular supporting members 18 and terminates Patented Oct. 17, 1961 '3at. its upper, as at 32, at a point substantially below the verticalcenter of the corresponding tubular supporting member 18. (FIG.7).

Each of the stub shafts 31 has an. annular latching groove 33 formed inthe outer surface thereof and a latching detent 34- is' formed in thewall of'the correspending tubular member 18 and is engageable in thelatching groove 33 for the purpose of latching each of the stub shafts31 to the corresponding lower tubular supporting member 18 (FIG. 9).

A flexible strap extends across the back of the seat cushion 15 (FIG. 6)and has end portions 21 which encircle and are fastened to the upperportion of each of the outer tubular supporting members 18 (FIGS. 6 andIn the use of the new combination cushion and arm.

rest unit the same may be used as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of thedrawings, with the seat cushion 14 arranged horizontally on a bed andthe back cushion 15 propped against a pillow 12, or the new unit may beused upon a chair 13, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, with the seat cushion14 rested upon the seat 16 of a chair 13 andand relative to the tubularsupporting members 18 and inserting the latch elements or cotter keys 26through selected pairs of registered holes 24- 25 in the tubularsupporting members 23 and 18, respectively. The user may then sit uponthe seat cushion 14 with his back rested against the back cushion 15 andwith his arms rested over and upon the arm rest members 19, adjusted toa suitable height, so that a substantial portion of the weight of theupper portion of the users body will be carried by and upon the arm restmembers 19 and their tubular supporting members 23--18.

The flexible strap member 20-21 enables the arm rest members 19 andtheir tubular supporting members 23-48 to be flexed forwardly to alimited extent, as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 7, to enable theuser to move forwardly without removing the arms from the arm restmembers 19, and the flexible elastic members 20-41 serve to return orurge the arm rest members 19 and their tubular supporting members 2318into their normal position against and parallel to the front of the backcushion 15. p

The arm rest members 19 and their tubular support ing members 23-48 arehingedly mounted at their lower ends in the tubular hinge member 29 bymeans of the stub shafts 30-31 which extend into and work in the tubularhinge member 20.

The engagement of. the Iatchingdetents 34 in the annular grooves 33 ofthe stub shafts 31 retains the stub shafts 31 in the tubular hingemember 29 and in assembled relationship with the tubular supportingmembers 13.

The flexible web .W, holds the seat cushion 14 and back cushion 15 andassociated parts together in assembled position. i

It will thus be seen from theforeg'oing description, considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, that the present invention.provides a/new and improved orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit havingthe desirable advantages and'characteristics and accomplishing itsintended objects, including those hereinbefore pointed out and otherswhich are inherent in the invention.

I claim: I

An orthopedic cushion and arm rest unit comprising a seat cushion andaback. rest cushion, a pair of horizontal, side-by-side fabric piecesinterconnecting said seat cushion and back cushion and forming a web, ahorizontal tube positioned in said web and extending substantiallytherethrough, a horizontal stub shaft extending into each end of saidhorizontal tube and forming a pivot hinge therewith; a vertical armextending upwardly on each of said stub shafts, a tubular supportingmember telescopically mounted on each of said vertical arms by theinterlocking of an. annular latching groove in each of said arms and alatching detent in the wall of each of said tubular supporting members,a pair of arm rest members arranged forwardly of the front surface ofthe back rest cushion and adjacent the sides of the latter, a tubeattached to and depending downwardly from each arm test, each tube beingin telescopic engagement with one of said tubular supporting members,each of said tubular supporting members having a pair of aligned holesand each of said tubes having a series of pairs of aligned holes alongits length, a pin extending through the pair of holes in each of saidtubular supporting members and also through a pair of holes in each ofsaid tubes to hold said arm rests at the desired adjusted heightposition on the respective tubular supporting members, and an elasticband extending across the back of said back cushion and attached at eachend to one of said tubular supporting members adjacent the upper end ofsaid tubular supporting members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

